1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to location-based meeting collaboration and, more specifically, to providing geolocation notifications to increase collaboration between users.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the business and sales world, buyers, sellers, co-workers, etc., schedule meetings to discuss business matters. In-person, face-to-face meetings offer the advantages of direct, personal interaction among meeting participants. Online meetings can allow participants to share documents on individual computer screens, and are especially useful for meetings among participants in diverse locations.
However, it can be difficult for collaborators to opportunistically plan meetings with other collaborators. For salespersons, finding new clients and scheduling time with existing ones is difficult. Often, scheduling conflicts or a lack of knowledge and communication about a client's schedule and/or location are barriers to engaging with those clients in a meaningful way. Furthermore, the greater the number of potential meeting participants, the more difficult it can be to select and schedule mutually agreeable meeting times. Further difficulties and frustrations are encountered if one or more collaborators become unavailable, causing the meeting time to be rescheduled. This can result in delays that impact efficiency and hamper forward progress of a collaborative project.
Typically, collaborators can select and schedule meeting times using conventional means, e.g., based on foreseeable opportunities. Computer calendar applications can assist potential meeting participants in selecting common meeting opportunities in the future based on availability information indicated in the calendars. However, comparing calendars can be an iterative, manual process among potential participants, which is repeated if a meeting is to be rescheduled.